Just in case there is some confusion as to what an "official language" is...

Quote: An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other territory. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration

I find it very rude to have hispanics speaking spanish in front of others when they know english. Makes me feel like they are talking about me. I know about %20 of the spanish language, so I can hold a conversation somewhat.

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The2nd ammendment, it makes all the others possible. <///<

So you're saying wikipedia is more of a credible source than a government site? The fact is wikipedia hasn't been updated to reflect congresses passing of English as the official language. I only referenced the site for the basic definition not for its current relevance. Good try though.

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Enjoy life while you can, you never know when things will change.

Sorry, but I am sick of monolingual, English-speaking white Christians acting like they own the whole @#$% culture. It's like they think the rest of us are not "real" Americans. I speak three languages and will speak any one of them any time I please, and if anyone does not like that it is their @#$% problem.

YOU posted the wiki article. Obviously you did not read it very carefully!

I already expalined this before, but I will try one more time. The government document you cited earlier reaffirmed the official status of English WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. That was already true anyway. It did not make English the official language of the US.

Here's an idea: instead of arguing with me, call up the foreign language office at your local college or university and ask them if English is the official language of the US.

Yes i did site wikipedia and yes i did read if truly. Like i said it hasn't been updated to reflect the May 2006 decision by Congress making English the National/official language. What you don't seem to understand or are refusing to acknowledge is that the official language of a country doesn't mean everyone in the country has to speak it. It only means that it is the language used in official government business and legal systems. If YOU had read the article on wikipedia you would understand that. Additionally the amendment i sited did not "reaffirm" anything; there has been a fight since at least the '70s to get that passed.

The issue here is you don't understand what the term "official language" means. There isn't a country in the world that i know of which has and "official language" by your terms. You aren't going to find a country where you MUST speak the local language or else. That will never be the case in the U.S. either. A countries official language is nothing more than the language the government and courts are required to provide documentation in and conduct business in. This doesn't even mean the U.S. government can't provide documentation in another language, only that it doesn't HAVE to. There are however bills that some are trying to get passed that will change the governments requirement to provide bilingual voting, it hasn’t been passed.

I'm going to try to make this as clear for you as i can.

Quote: Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration.

This was made legal for English in the U.S. in May of 2006.

Quote: Originally posted by fileboy2002: The government document you cited earlier reaffirmed the official status of English WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

So if you’re going to “reaffirm” what I have said how is it you don’t get it?

I’ll recap for you. The official and national language for the U.S. IS English, this IS a new thing and no it doesn’t mean everyone in the country has to speak it. All it means is our courts and government business/documents have to be in English, but doesn’t restrict them to only the use of English.

By the way, the only university even close to me is a technical university…in GREECE. Pay attention, I’m not state side.

I have no personal issues with anyone speaking any languages as long as in the work place everyone understands the language being spoken. Meaning if your work place is mostly English then work needs to be conducted in English, at least in the work space. Any public or common areas are fair game.

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Enjoy life while you can, you never know when things will change.

Quote:I have no personal issues with anyone speaking any languages as long as in the work place everyone understands the language being spoken. Meaning if your work place is mostly English then work needs to be conducted in English, at least in the work space. Any public or common areas are fair game.

Definitely agree.

File..boy, whatever you want to be called. Happy ya speak three languages, but what ticks me off is that in a customer oriented field the person can't even communicate. Try ordering from Burger King or McDonalds on Northern VA. It all about communication, and if you want to be here, ya should be able to communicate and that is in English. When i was stationed in Korea I learned Korean. I was in their country, so I communicated in their language. When I was in Panama, it was Spanish and in Germany it was German, I think you get the point.

Don't come in here running at the mouth about white people trying to make it a whole perfect, English speaking race. I think if you are here, you need to speak the language. What you do in your home your business, what you do with another person speaking the same language your business too. If you are going to be a citizen here, speak the language. I don't think that is asking too much...

If a person needs to communicate in a job setting and is unable to do so, that person is arguably not qualified for the job.

However, I resent it when monolingual people require me to speak "their" language when I am not even talking to them. I took my my 82 year-old Lithuanian grandmother to the grocery store the other day and asked her, in Lithuanian, if she wanted me to pick up some cabbage. Some old fart near us had the gall to frown at me and remind me I was in America and should speak English. Had he been my own age, I would have knocked his @#$% teeth out.

And please don't go ballistic just because I mentioned race (I am a white person, incidently). Yes, I know we are all supposed to pretend race is irrelevant in America, but I just cannot lie to myself that way.